One gold brick weighs about one kilogram, so 100 bricks would weigh 100 kilograms, which is already the limit of the box's load-bearing capacity. If any more were placed in it, the canvas would probably be torn to shreds.
"What the hell is so great about this gold...?"
Zhuang Rui sat down on the box with a bit of helplessness. He was a little excited when he first saw the gold, but now he felt it was inconvenient. This broken stuff can't be eaten or drunk, and it's inconvenient to carry around. Why is it so valuable?
It must have been so difficult for people in ancient times. They had to carry a bag of metal with them every day when they went out. It's so much more convenient now, where you can just write a check and get millions or tens of millions.
"Stop staring at me, let's move..."
Seeing that Peng Fei and Zhou Rui were waiting for him to make a decision, Zhuang Rui stood up, pulled out the handle of the box, and dragged it out of the cave. Fortunately, the floor of the cave was relatively flat; otherwise, it would have been exhausting for these people to carry it out.
Having suffered two losses in a row, Liu Chuan refused to go into the cave again. He stayed by the helicopter and, together with Hao Long, carried the boxes containing the gold that Zhuang Rui and the others had packed onto the helicopter. However, after carrying only a dozen or so canvas boxes, he was so tired that he couldn't lift his arms anymore.
Although it was just being moved from the ground to the helicopter, at a height of only about one meter, this single box weighed two hundred kilograms. Not to mention Liu Chuan, even Hao Long would have some trouble handling it.
Zhuang Rui, pulling a box of gold, walked to the helicopter and said to Hao Long, "Brother Hao, you and Da Chuan go inside and pack it up, Peng Fei and I will carry it..."
"Boss, I'm fine. Let Da Chuan go in. I can hold on for a while longer..."
"Yeah, Brother Zhuang, your left shoulder injury hasn't healed yet, you can't put weight on it. You all go pack the boxes, I can carry them up myself..."
Peng Fei also came over. This kid's strength was terrifying. He bent down and lifted the 200-pound box in one go and put it directly onto the helicopter.
With Peng Fei as their professional porter, Liu Chuan and Hao Long were able to enter the cave, which significantly sped up the packing process. However, they soon ran out of boxes.
Zhuang Rui and his group only bought a total of fifty-odd boxes, and so far they have only moved about six tons of gold. There are still six large boxes of gold in the cave, but two of the boxes contain some jewelry and jade.
Finally, having no other choice, they had to empty the boxes of gold from the cabin into the cargo hold of the helicopter, which allowed them to remove all the gold from the cave.
"I'm going to die. I'm going to die, you blockhead, please don't call me for something like this again..."
After handling the gold, Liu Chuan lay sprawled out on the hillside. The packing crew had it tough too; they had to pick up the gold and put it in the boxes. Among the group, Liu Chuan was the weakest and was now almost completely exhausted.
"You deserve it, didn't you? You used too much force in bed, didn't you?"
"Get out of my way..."
Liu Chuan didn't even have the energy to argue anymore, but he was a little puzzled as to when Zhuang Rui's health had improved so much.
Zhuang Rui smiled and walked past him. There were still two large boxes of jewelry inside the cave that hadn't been emptied. He and Peng Fei and the others emptied all the jewelry into their backpacks before they were finally done.
However, during the process of dealing in jewelry, Zhuang Rui was puzzled. Judging from the carving techniques, style, and jade quality of these jewelry pieces, very few were jadeite. Most of them were nephrite from China, and some even contained bloodstone and agate. They were also quite old.
In addition, there were some wine cups made of gold and Hetian jade. Zhuang Rui even saw an ancient jade with six different colors of patina. Such a thing is rare even in China.
Although time was short and he hadn't had a chance to examine them closely, Zhuang Rui wondered, "Could these things have been stolen from China and brought to Myanmar by the Japanese?"
Actually, Zhuang Rui misunderstood. You should know that in Myanmar a hundred or two hundred years ago, jade was not valued at all. The local emperors of Myanmar never took these things seriously. Instead, they admired Chinese jade, gold and silver ornaments.
Since the Tang and Song dynasties, Burma, as a small and undeveloped country, had always been a tributary state of China. Every year, it had to send letters of credence and tribute to the superior country. As the suzerain state, China naturally wanted to be grand, and the gifts it returned to the various vassal states of Burma were often many times more than their tribute.
During the Ming Dynasty, many nomadic tribes frequently visited the Celestial Empire, hoping to extract benefits from this supposedly superior nation.
The Burmese royal family naturally received many gifts from the Celestial Empire, but these gifts ended up here after Yangon and Mandalay were captured by the Japanese.
Zhuang Rui only learned the origin of these items later when he showed them a white jade cup to someone else, but that's another story. ...
The group ate something to replenish their energy, and it was almost afternoon. It had taken them more than five hours to move all that gold.
"Peng Fei, seal the entrance again..."
Zhuang Rui carefully searched the cave, leaving not a single pearl behind, and then instructed Peng Fei to blow up the cave entrance.
The blasting used a lot of explosives, and the entrance to the cave was completely destroyed. Although the traces of the blast are visible, clearing the way to enter the cave will not be an easy task.
After resting for another half hour, Peng Fei piloted the helicopter and flew towards the location of Hu Rong's mine.
Zhuang Rui clearly remembered that it took him and Peng Fei more than four hours to get from the edge of the forest to this place, but this time it only took them more than 20 minutes to see the mine, even with the flight slowed down.
"Brother, you...you really have some nerve, wow, you even managed to send a helicopter like this..."
After the helicopter came to a stop at the camp at the foot of the mountain, Hu Rong immediately came up to greet it, circled the helicopter, and looked on with envy. He often took helicopters to and from Hpakant, and had been quite worn out by the old and dilapidated helicopters in Myanmar.
"Brother Hu, are the people you brought reliable?"
After getting off the helicopter, Zhuang Rui immediately asked, "When I was in the helicopter, I saw that there were people with submachine guns guarding the area around the foot of the mountain, especially around the camp."
"Don't worry, I brought eighty people with me this time, all from my Hu family. They usually stay in Chinatown, so they're absolutely reliable..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Hu Rong's face turned serious. The people he brought this time, even if they weren't surnamed Hu, were still closely related to the Hu family. In the parlance of decades ago in China, they were considered to have "red and righteous roots."
"Okay, I need to rush back to China. Brother Hu, did you bring a scale? Weigh these gold bars so we can have someone load them onto the truck..."
Zhuang Rui took a gold diamond out of his pocket and handed it to Hu Rong.
Hu Rong, who was used to handling gold, held it up to the sunlight to examine it, then bit it and smiled, saying, "Not bad, this gold is of very high quality; it can fetch a good price..."
Hu Rong waved his hand and asked someone to bring over an electronic scale. He weighed the gold on it, and the weight was exactly 1,000 grams. He weighed several more pieces in succession, and the error of each piece was no more than two or three grams.
"Brother, how much did you bring in total?"
Hu Rong looked at Zhuang Rui with some curiosity, but he did not doubt that the gold came from Myanmar.
Zhuang Rui smiled, led Hu Rong to the helicopter, opened the cabin door, pointed to the dozens of canvas boxes, and said, "These boxes are all filled with..."
"Is it all...gold of the same purity as this?"
Hu Rong swallowed hard. Although he had seen many big events, he knew that only the vault custodians of large banks had the chance to see tons of gold at once.
"Yes, seven tons in total, one hundred kilograms in each box. Brother Hu, could you bring that truck over and have a few trustworthy people verify it before loading it onto the truck?"
Zhuang Rui had seen an armored truck parked in the camp earlier, presumably for Hu Rong to transport gold.
"well!"
Hu Rong rubbed his hands together, called over a dozen people to make arrangements, and backed the armored truck next to the helicopter door. Zhou Rui, Peng Fei, and others were on the helicopter and began the handover.
These gold pieces were all remelted and shaped using molds. They were almost identical in weight and volume, each weighing one kilogram. People on both sides were counting them, and in no time they had moved more than a ton.
Hu Rong pulled Zhuang Rui into a wooden hut in the camp and sat him down. He took out two agreements and placed them in front of Zhuang Rui, saying, "Brother, the price of gold in Myanmar is a bit high. I'll give you 130 RMB per gram. If you bring in two tons of gold from my mine, I'll give you 30% of the shares..."
Hu Rong's words surprised Zhuang Rui. They had previously agreed that he would buy 20% of Hu Rong's shares for 20 million euros, while the value of 2 tons of gold was about 26 million euros. If what Hu Rong said now was true, then he would be getting a good deal.
"Brother, I have investments in other industries and my funds are a bit tight. So I'm taking advantage of you on this shareholding. But don't worry, I'll handle the other three tons of gold you want to sell and the two tons I need to ship back to China for you perfectly. You don't need to worry about anything. What do you think?"
When Hu Rong saw that Zhuang Rui didn't speak, he thought that Zhuang Rui disagreed, so he quickly explained that the jade mine had not yet shown any signs of being a rich deposit, which meant that the more Zhuang Rui invested, the more he might lose in the future.
"Brother Hu, okay, we'll do it your way..."
Zhuang Rui hesitated for a moment, then nodded heavily after a couple of minutes, agreeing, though inwardly he was overjoyed: "Even if you sold me the entire mine's shares, I'd take it!"
Chapter 516 The Gift
The contract was drafted by Hu Rong. After changing a few numbers, Zhuang Rui signed his name, making two copies, and the transaction was considered complete.
Although this contract wasn't very formal, Zhuang Rui wasn't afraid that Hu Rong might have any bad intentions. The reason he brought a helicopter to make the deal with him today was partly to intimidate him, and Hu Rong was well aware of that.
In this transaction, Zhuang Rui found a jade mine that would lay golden eggs, while Hu Rong relieved the pressure of the mine not producing jade. With the batch of gold that Zhuang Rui invested, even if he couldn't find a vein, he wouldn't have too much financial pressure if he could sustain the mine for another year or two.
In Hu Rong's view, this move is a win-win situation, of course, it is based on helping Zhuang Rui launder money.
In addition to the two tons of gold used to purchase the shares, Hu Rong also gave Zhuang Rui a receipt indicating that he had received another five tons of gold.
This is just a formality. If Hu Rong wants to pocket this gold, forget about getting a receipt. Even if the two of them signed a formal contract, it wouldn't matter. Conversely, whether or not there's a receipt is irrelevant.
"Brother, today is the Little New Year. Why don't you come back to our Chinatown to celebrate the Little New Year before you leave?"
After the matter was settled, Hu Rong felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders. With this batch of gold, those who were laughing at him and those who were planning to take advantage of the situation would have to give up their ideas.
"No, Brother Hu, I only have 24 hours of access to this helicopter. I have to rush back soon. You absolutely must come to my engagement party after the New Year..."
Zhuang Rui smiled and waved his hand, thinking to himself that when he got home, his mother would probably give him a dressing down, and another political and ideological education lesson would definitely be inevitable.
"Don't worry, Brother Zhuang, I'll go even if you don't invite me. By the way, I also prepared a gift for your visit this time..."
Hu Rong walked to the door of the wooden house and waved to the outside. A young man carrying a large package that looked like it was wrapped in a bed sheet walked into the wooden house.
“Brother, give one of these tiger skins to Grandpa Ouyang, and give the other one to your aunt. It’s cold in Beijing, and covering yourself with this in winter is more useful than a heated kang bed…”
Upon opening the package, two whole tiger skins were revealed. Hu Rong spread them out in the room, and they took up more than half of the room's space. Both tiger skins were over two meters long and more than one meter wide, with a large "king" character on their foreheads, which greatly impacted Zhuang Rui's visual senses.
Both tiger skins were tanned very well. Zhuang Rui touched them and found that the tiger skins were very thick and the fur was particularly soft. The black and yellow stripes of the fur were exceptionally bright. If you put it on a chair, it would look like a real tiger poised to pounce.
"Brother Hu, how did you kill that tiger?"
Zhuang Rui ran his hands over the tiger skin. He was genuinely curious, because after looking at it for a long time, he couldn't find any scars or bullet holes on the tiger skin. Could it really be that Wu Song killed the tiger with his fists?
"Hehe, these were taken by my grandfather when he was young. He was a sharpshooter; he could shoot bullets into people's heads through their eyes. These two are the most intact ones..."
Hu Rong had also hunted tigers before, but his skills were not as good. Since he was giving them away, he chose these two tiger skins that were in the best condition.
"Brother Hu, this...this is way too valuable, isn't it?"
Zhuang Rui knew the price of tiger skins. In China, a complete tiger skin could fetch over a million yuan. These two tiger skins, without even a single bullet hole, were each worth at least two million yuan. If he encountered a nouveau riche like Fatty Ma, it would be normal for him to be ripped off for three to five million yuan.
"It's nothing, just take it. Besides, it's a gift for the elderly, don't try to use money as an excuse..."
Hu Rong waved his hand and continued, "I know that the sale of tiger skins is strictly prohibited in China. Take one back for your aunt to use, and I'll bring the other one through customs..."
Hu Rong had thought things through carefully. If the tiger skin were smuggled into China, Old Master Ouyang probably wouldn't accept it to avoid suspicion. So, he had Zhuang Rui take one back first, so it wouldn't be too conspicuous for his own family. As for the one for Old Master Ouyang, he would bring it into China through normal procedures, thus avoiding any gossip.
"Alright, then I'll thank Brother Hu on behalf of my mother and grandfather..."
Zhuang Rui didn't mince words. Such a fine tiger skin is truly a rare find in China. If it weren't for the fact that it was in Myanmar, these tigers would be shot a dozen times over if they were caught in China.
"I really do have the potential to be a smuggler..."
Last time he brought tiger bones and tiger penis when he crossed the border, but this time he upgraded and brought a tiger skin. If it weren't for the fact that he was smuggling himself into Myanmar, Zhuang Rui would have been willing to report it to customs, so as not to worry about bringing it on the plane.
Although I was a little uneasy, I still had to pack everything. I brought several large bags of jewelry and ornaments, and I didn't mind bringing an extra tiger skin.
After refolding the tiger skin, Zhuang Rui hugged it to his chest, intending to put it in a backpack later. The other tiger skin was put away by the young man.
"Brother, everything's been counted. A total of seven tons of gold, and it should be no more than that..."
At this moment, a middle-aged man in his thirties knocked on the door and came in. He nodded to Zhuang Rui first. He was Hu Rong's second younger brother and knew Zhuang Rui. He was the one who was in charge of checking the gold just now.
"Brother Hu, Second Brother, I'll take my leave now. See you after the New Year..."
Zhuang Rui checked the time; it was already past 5 PM. He figured it would be 7 or 8 PM by the time he got back to China.
Hu Rong didn't try to keep Zhuang Rui any longer, saying, "Alright, be careful on the road. That batch of gold we're selling will probably take a little longer. But I'll bring the other two tons to China for you after the New Year. You have a jewelry store, right? We can use the jewelry store's name to buy gold from Myanmar for your own use..."
Zhuang Rui nodded, naturally admiring Hu Rong from the bottom of his heart. Having spent so much time in society, Hu Rong's experience was truly different; with just a casual remark, he had cleaned up all of Zhuang Rui's gold.